The invention relates to hair conditioners and hair shampoos which contain water soluble salts of chitosan.
Hair conditioners have the object of improving the general condition of the hair and customarily are oil-in-water emulsions which are based on oily, semi-solid or solid compounds, such as for instance paraffin oil, Vaseline, wool fat, wool fatty alcohols, fatty acid esters and hydrocarbon waxes.
As emulsifiers for the emulsion ordinarily quaternary ammonium compounds are used such as oxyethylalkylammoniumphosphates, alkyltrimethylammoniumchlorides, dialkyldimethylammoniumchlorides, alkyldimethylbenzylammoniumchlorides and alkylpyridiniumchlorides. These compounds are used either alone or in combination with non-ionic emulsifiers. Also, aqueous solutions or aqueous gels containing quaternary ammonium compounds are frequently used as hair conditioners.
Hair shampoos customarily contain anionic surface active agents, such as for instance fatty alcohol sulfates, fatty alcohol ethersulfates, fatty acid monoglyceride sulfates, alkylarylsulfates and sulfosuccinates. Special hair shampoos are compositions which contain nonionic, cationic, ampholytic surface active agents or mixtures of these agents as active wash components. Among the nonionic surface active agents there may for instance be mentioned nonylphenolpolyglycol ethers, sorbitan fatty acid esters, sorbitan polyoxyalkylene fatty acid esters, fatty acid ethoxylates and fatty alcohol ethoxylates.
Representative of the cationic surface active agents are for instance alkyldimethylbenzyl ammoniumchlorides, pentaoxyethyl ammoniumchlorides, alkyltrimethyl ammoniumchlorides, alkyldimethyl ammoniumsaccharinates and alkyldimethyl dichlorobenzylammoniumchlorides.
As ampholytic surface active agents there can be mentioned the amidoalkylbetaines, sulfobetaines and N-Alkyl-.beta.-aminopropionic acid.
It is also known to add to shampoos, small amounts of compounds which are intended to effect a better conditioning of the hair. Apart from various other compounds there are frequently used for this purpose quaternary ammonium compounds and oxethylated alkylolamides.
It has, however, been found during practical application that the prior art hair conditioners and hair shampoos are not entirely satisfactory regarding their conditioning effect, in particular regarding the touch, gloss and combing properties of the hair.
The present invention has therefore the object to provide for a process by which an improved conditioning of the hair is possible during or without shampooing the hair and, if desired, together with a dyeing of the hair.